His father.
His sister.
The people who had once formed the center of his world.
They were not the family he had remembered, and perhaps they never had been. But for the first time, they were standing in the same room with the same information, unable to hide behind separate versions of the past.
That did not make them whole.
It simply meant the truth had finally become something they could face together.
Before they could decide their next move, Colton's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice came through the speaker.
"Colton Hayes."
"Who is this?"
"You can call me Arthur."
Colton felt every muscle in his body tighten.
Arthur Vale spoke with the calm confidence of someone who had never needed to raise his voice to make other people listen.
"I understand you've had an interesting morning."
"Then you know I have questions."
"I imagine you have many."
"Start with Nora."
There was a pause.
"Nora was an intelligent woman. Too intelligent for her own safety."
Colton gripped the phone.
"Did you kill her?"
"No."
"Did you order someone else to kill her?"
Arthur's voice remained smooth.
"I did not order her death."
"That's a carefully chosen sentence."
"You have your father's instinct for suspicion."
"Which father?"
A silence followed.
Then Arthur laughed softly.
"Fair enough."
Colton looked at Rebecca. Her face had gone pale.
Arthur continued.
"I would like to meet you. There are things I should have explained years ago."
"You've had years."
"And you have had a lifetime to believe a story that was never complete. Neither of us can change that. We can only decide what to do now."
"Where?"
"The observatory is not a good place. Too many memories. Too many people who believe they understand what happened."
"Then name another place."
"The research station. Tomorrow, at noon."
Colton looked at Darren.
Darren shook his head once.
Arthur was watching for an answer.
Colton forced himself to sound curious rather than angry.
"Why should I meet you?"
"Because I can tell you what Rebecca has refused to tell you. I can tell you why Samuel stayed away. I can tell you what happened to Nora. And I can tell you why the child you call Lila has become so important to people who should never have known she existed."
Colton's blood ran cold.
"You know about Lila."
"Of course I do."
"If you go near her—"
"I have no intention of harming a child, Colton."
"That isn't the same as promising to leave her alone."
Arthur's voice sharpened slightly.
"You are angry. I understand. But anger can make a man careless. I am offering you an opportunity to learn the truth before you make decisions you may regret."
"Then give me one piece of that truth now."
Another pause.
"Your mother did not simply conceal your parentage. She concealed the fact that your birth was part of a much larger arrangement. You were not the only child whose identity was changed. You were merely the one she loved enough to keep close."
Colton stared at Rebecca.
She had gone perfectly still.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you should ask her about the children who were born in the Red Mesa medical program. Ask her about the records that disappeared from the clinic. Ask her why she was so determined to keep you out of my hands."
The line went silent.
Colton pulled the phone away from his ear.
"Arthur?"
No answer.
The call had ended.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then Mara said, "What children?"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Samuel leaned forward.
"I think I know."
Colton turned toward him.
"Then tell us."
Samuel looked at Rebecca, who appeared to have aged several years in the space of a minute.
"Red Mesa funded a private medical program in the early years," Samuel said. "Officially, it was designed to provide prenatal care for women in remote communities. Some of the clinics were legitimate. Others were used to alter records, conceal births, and arrange adoptions without proper documentation."
Mara stared at him.
"You're talking about trafficking."
"I'm talking about illegal transfers of custody, falsified identities, and payments made to people who were supposed to protect children. I don't know how far it went."
"You knew this was happening?"
"I suspected. I did not know the full extent."
Colton's voice was dangerously quiet.
"And you stayed."
Samuel nodded.
"Yes."
Mara looked sick.
"How many children?"
"I don't know."
"How many?"
"I don't know, Mara."
"Then why didn't you find out?"
"Because by the time I understood what I was looking at, I was already involved in the cover-up."
Mara turned away.
Colton looked at Rebecca.
"Was I one of those children?"
"No," she said immediately.
"How can I believe that?"
"Because I was pregnant before the program began. Arthur had no control over your birth."